Sports
OSAA
moves
4A hoops
tourneys
Pandemic concerns
force relocation
of tournaments
to Coos Bay area
A7
Saturday, February 12, 2022
Talent haul
Eastern Oregon football announces 2022 recruiting class
By DAVIS CARBAUGH • The Observer
L
A GRANDE — A group of new athletes
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
WILSONVILLE — The
4A state basketball tourna-
ments are on the move.
The Oregon School Activ-
ities Association announced
on Wednesday, Feb. 9, that
the boys and girls state tour-
naments will be moved to the
Coos Bay area. After Forest
Grove requested not to host
the event this year, Marshfi eld
and North Bend high schools
will be holding the state
tournaments.
“We’ll travel wherever we
need to go in order to play,”
La Grande Athletic Director
Darren Goodman said.
Goodman noted that La
Grande teams have often
had to travel far for tourna-
ment play in the past, stating
that travel plan will not be an
issue. The Tigers are currently
tied for fi rst in the Greater
Oregon League boys stand-
ings and second on the girls
side.
Forest Grove cited
COVID-19 issues as the
reason for not holding the
tournament, stating that the
community has been hit hard
by the pandemic. Addition-
ally, OSAA reported that the
matchups would likely see a
fan restriction at the Forest
Grove facilities.
Marshfi eld and North
Bend stepped up to host the
event, in addition to also
hosting the 3A state tourna-
ment fi nals. Pendleton was
considered as a top location
to host the event, according
to OSAA, but there are more
schools on the west side of the
state that would have to travel
to East Oregon.
The 4A boys and girls
tournament fi nal rounds are
set to be held from March
10-12. The fi rst-round
matchups the week prior
will still be held at the high-
er-seeded high schools.
La Grande and Baker
teams that qualify for the
tournament will likely face
a nearly eight-hour drive, as
opposed to about four and a
half hours to Forest Grove.
Boys quarterfi nal
matchups are slated to be held
throughout the afternoon at
North Bend High School,
while the remaining rounds
will be played at Marshfi eld
High School. The 4A boys
championship game is sched-
uled for 3:15 on March 12
at Marshfi eld High School,
according to OSAA.
On the girls side, the quar-
terfi nals through champion-
ship matchup will take place
at Marshfi eld High School.
The girls fi nal is slated for
8:30 p.m. on March 12 at
Marshfi eld.
Marshfi eld is a 4A school
that will likely qualify for
the state tournament on both
sides, with its boys team cur-
rently standing at 17-4 and
the girls team at 15-6. Host
schools typically do not play
in the tournament, which
is a concern OSAA Exec-
utive Director Peter Weber
addressed in the release by
OSAA.
“Obviously, it’s not an
ideal situation,” Weber told
John Gunther of The World
newspaper in Coos Bay.
“We’ve had it come up in a
few other circumstances.”
Forest Grove was previ-
ously slated to host the 3A and
4A volleyball tournaments in
the fall, but the tournaments
were moved to Corvallis.
First-round matchups of
the 4A OSAA tournament are
set to begin on March 3.
will pad up with the Mountaineers. The
Eastern Oregon University football
program announced its 2022 recruiting class on
Tuesday, Feb. 8. The class includes a total of 21
new players, 18 high school recruits and three
collegiate transfers.
“I think we met some
needs that will help us out
immediately, as well as
building our roster toward
the future,” Eastern head
football coach Tim Camp
said.
The class includes a mix
of size and skill, with nine of
the players primarily playing
defensive positions. The
group consists of 12 off en-
sive-based players, but most
of the high school recruits
have played on both sides of
the ball in prep competition.
Eastern added four line-
backers, in addition to two
running backs who also
played linebacker. Colt Mat-
teson, of Bishop Union,
California, Lawson Tala-
mentez, of Seaside, and Jason
Sieveking, of Redmond, pri-
marily played the outside
linebacker position in high
school. Andrew Domingos,
of Hockinson, Washington,
played primarily middle line-
backer — the new Moun-
taineer recorded 159 tackles,
14 sacks, two blocked punts
and a touchdown during his
senior year at Hockinson
High School.
The EOU team beefed up
its lines, adding four primary
off ensive linemen and two
defensive linemen. Most of
the linemen play both sides,
so Eastern will have some
fl exibility in moving them
around to fi ll gaps on the
roster.
According to Camp, a
handful of incoming players
will meet immediate needs
on both sides of the ball.
“We’re going to start
the best 11 guys on off ense,
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group, File
La Grande’s Brody MacMillan (11) fi nds a hole in the Burns defense to
score a touchdown at Community Stadium in La Grande on Friday, Oct.
1, 2021. The Tigers won 35-20. MacMillan will begin his collegiate career
with the EOU Mountaineers.
defense and special teams,”
he said. “If a freshman earns
a spot on the fi eld, every-
thing is open.”
Eastern added three run-
ning backs, one of whom is
a very familiar name in La
Grande. Brody MacMillan, a
running back and linebacker
for the Tigers, signed to play
for the Mountaineers. Mac-
Millan was an anchor for La
Grande, on the off ense and
defense, helping the Tigers
build their off ensive identity
around a bruising running
style.
“He’s a competitor,”
Camp said of the reigning
Greater Oregon League
off ensive player of the year.
“I really think he’ll add
good depth and has a pas-
sion to play.”
See, Recruits/Page A8
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group, File
Solo Taylor leads the troops during Eastern Oregon University football practice at Community Stadium in La Grande on Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021.
Eastern Oregon University/Contributed Photo